Not parents of sick children, teachers with half-empty classrooms, doctors without space in waiting rooms or emergency departments. Certainly not one of the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who spent days or weeks on their couches or in bed, coughing and suffering with fever and body aches.

In a year in which germs thrived, flu managed to stand out in 2012-13. It struck upward of 45,000 people statewide, more than 10 times the previous year.

But many New Yorkers wait for autumn's chill to signal flu season is near, before considering the vaccine, health officials acknowledged.

Outside the Latham Target store last week, on a humid late-summer day, half a dozen shoppers walked past a large white-and-red sign near the entrance announcing the availability of the shots but said they were not likely to get one yet, if at all. "A day like today? I'm not thinking about the flu," said a Colonie resident in her 60s who gets a shot every year.

More Information

Flu cases statewide

Lab-confirmed flu cases

2010-11: 20,380

2011-12: 4,404

2012-13: 45,352

Patients hospitalized with lab-confirmed flu

2010-11: 4,522

2011-12: 1,169

2012-13: 9,537

Children's deaths associated with flu

2010-11: 7

2011-12: 1

2012-13: 14

Duration that flu was widespread

2010-11: 16 weeks

2011-12: 11 weeks

2012-13: 22 weeks

Source: New York State Department of Health

There's no benefit to waiting, Blog said. Flu vaccine given now remains effective through spring.

There is an advantage to getting vaccinated sooner. Vaccines are most effective if given before people are exposed to infections. With flu vaccine, it takes two weeks for the body's immune system to ramp up to ward off the virus, Blog said.

Getting the vaccine early also ensures it will be available, said John McDonald, owner of Marra's Pharmacy in Cohoes. Supplies thin out once people realize they're surrounded by sick family members and co-workers.

Last year, flu was already widespread by Thanksgiving. By January, it was too late for many people: They'd either already been sick, or could not get the get the vaccine when they wanted it because demand was outpacing supply.

About 51 million doses of vaccine have already been distributed nationally out of the 135 million to 139 million doses anticipated this year, according to health officials.

Many people refer to a severe cold or other common virus as "the flu," and the symptoms can be similar, said Dennis Mc-Kenna, medical director at Albany Medical Center Hospital. They include fever, muscle aches and trouble breathing. With a true case of influenza, the symptoms are more intense. Some patients develop complications like pneumonia and do not recover.

Only a blood test can confirm a genuine case of the flu. But once the illness becomes prevalent, doctors often diagnose it without laboratory confirmation, said Louis Snitkoff, medical director of CapitalCare Medical Group.

Flu vaccine comes in an injectable form, recommended for everyone over 6 months old, or as a nasal spray known as FluMist, approved for most people ages 2 to 49.

The most common side effects are soreness at a shot site, low fever or achiness. The nasal spray might cause congestion, runny nose, sore throat or a cough, according to CDC.

While flu vaccine lasts through the season, it doesn't remain effective from one year to the next. The virus mutates, and different strains circulate each year. The vaccine's effectiveness depends in part on the match of its chemistry to the flu strains that actually circulate, according to CDC.

Regardless of the vaccine match, seasons in which flu strains known as H3 are prevalent tend to result in more severe illness, state health officials said. That was the case last year.

Until this year, flu vaccines were all "trivalent," covering three strains of the virus. Some vaccines this year, including FluMist, are "quadrivalent," covering four. Health officials do not recommend one over the other.

"I personally hope I get the quadrivalent," Blog said. "So far there does not appear to be any side effects just because an additional strain is added."

Albany Med will provide the trivalent vaccine to employees who choose to get it. Administrators there did not feel they knew enough about the quadrivalent form, which is also more costly.

"We feel confident that the trivalent is safe," Mc- Kenna said.

The quadrivalent vaccine is not widely available in injectable form yet, Snitkoff said. Some physician groups recommend that patients get vaccinated early rather than wait for the quadrivalent vaccine to be plentiful, he said.

The vaccine's cost is often covered by many health insurance plans. But where you get the shot matters to some insurance companies. Some will cover a shot given by a doctor, but not a pharmacist, McDonald said.

A random check of local pharmacies found the cost of the vaccine ranging from $28 to $35.